assail

[uh-seyl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR assail ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to attack vigorously or violently; assault.

to attack with arguments, criticism, ridicule, abuse, etc.: to assail one's opponent with slander.

to undertake with the purpose of mastering: He assailed his studies with new determination.

to impinge upon; make an impact on; beset: His mind was assailed by conflicting arguments. The light assailed their eyes.

Origin of assail

1175–1225; Middle English asaylen < Old French asalir < Late Latin assalīre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + salīre to leap, spring

Related formsas·sail·a·ble, adjectiveas·sail·a·ble·ness, nounas·sail·er, nounas·sail·ment, nounun·as·sailed, adjectiveun·as·sail·ing, adjective

Synonyms for assail

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR assail ON THESAURUS.COM

2. asperse, malign.

Synonym study

1. See attack.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for assail

impugn, blast, revile, trash, berate, criticize, lambaste, vilify, bash, blister, malign, charge, bust, beset, assault, abuse, maltreat, molest, invade, encounter

Examples from the Web for assail

Contemporary Examples of assail

Politics seems to assail Carvalho, forcing him to take up former cudgels and defend his corner.
The Foodie Detective: The Pepe Carvalho Novels by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán
Malcolm Forbes
October 3, 2012
The only group that it was okay to assail, she says, was liberals.
Reagan's Party No More
Eleanor Clift
September 1, 2011
Days later, Al Gore suddenly surfaced after months of silence to assail President Obama for his failure to lead on climate change.
White House Stung By Clinton-Gore Essays
Eleanor Clift
June 23, 2011

Historical Examples of assail

The darts of calamity may assail her on every side, but she is invulnerable to them all.
Imogen
William Godwin
At the turret we could assail Hahn, and replace him with Snap.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930
Various
If you assail me by the brain, I may attack you at the heart!
Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume I.
Charles James Lever
Besides, the real intention was not to assail you, but the people here who admitted you.'
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
What temptations would not assail her,—by what flatteries would she not be beset!
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for assail

assail

verb (tr)

to attack violently; assault

to criticize or ridicule vehemently, as in argument

to beset or disturbhis mind was assailed by doubts

to encounter with the intention of masteringto assail a problem; to assail a difficult mountain ridge

Derived Formsassailable, adjectiveassailer, nounassailment, noun

Word Origin for assail

C13: from Old French asalir, from Vulgar Latin assalīre (unattested) to leap upon, from Latin assilīre, from salīre to leap

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for assail

c.1200, from Old French assalir "attack, assault, assail" (12c., Modern French assaillir), from Vulgar Latin *adsalire "to leap at," from Latin ad- "at" (see ad-) + salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Figurative use from mid-14c. Related: Assailed; assailing; assailable.